10. Abunimah on Israel's Nazi policies...

In a post on the Elecronic Intifada in January 2009, headlined “Why Israel Won’t Survive,” Abunimah wrote that Israel was created by "the ethnic cleansing of Palestine’s non-Jewish majority Arab population," and "has been maintained in existence only through Western support and constant use of violence to prevent the surviving indigenous population from exercising political rights within the country, or returning from forced exile." Abunimah expressed his belief that the intention of the peace process was to normalize Israel as a Jewish state and gain Palestinian blessing for their own subjugation. He compared Israel to apartheid South Africa, saying Israel makes "South Africa’s apartheid leaders look wise, restrained and humane by comparison." In addition, he also approvingly cites comparisons of Israel to Nazi Germany made by Gerald Kaufman. In 2010 he wrote on Twitter that “Supporting Zionism is not atonement for the Holocaust, but its continuation in spirit.” In 2011 he tweeted that: “It's racist to think Jews need a special state and can't live with other people. Aren't they human like the rest of us?”

13. actually, I'm a big fan of those "idiotic nicknames"

And I'm not sure how certain inferences can be made from things I say, particularly lately. There's paraphrasing, and then there's just putting words in somebody's mouth. I prefer to keep others' fingers out of my mouth, and I will speak for myself. Endlessly speak for myself with big words when in the mood, as you well know.

You say "this forum is in a sorry state", but you're front and center in that aforementioned circle jerk above. That has to be considered part and parcel of the also aforementioned sorry state, don't you think? And I'm not sure how one can be in the center of the ring around a circle, but I can't be bothered to revise that with a better functioning metaphor. The sorry state lunges further forward.

The dictator of Qatar is just looking to purchase Hamas away from its nominal and highly overstated relationship with Iran, while keeping its influence ahead of the dictator of Saudi Arabia. The Qatari gas depot is coopting branches of the Muslim Brotherhood all over the region as an instrument of US foreign policy, using its supreme hypocrite and laughing stock televangelist for hire Sheikh Qaradawi as its celebrity endorsement. On the matter of occupied Palestine, the dictator of Qatar is already pushing Hamas leaders to play nice with Fatah and collaborate with Israel. This is not a positive development, this is business as usual.

Note: in hindsight, paragraph 2 wasn't intended to be nearly as aggressive towards you personally as it seems to be; more of a generally directed aggressive statement. Left as is, but with this slight clarification.

14. Ok then

I take your point about my role in the "sorry state" of the forum. I've been frustrated lately that serious articles seem to sink without comment while more silly arguments seems to be all that holds anyone's interest and I've admittedly joined in the silliness as a result of that frustration.

I appreciate your insights on the person you call "the dictator of Qatar" and his approach to Hamas and Gaza. There seems to be a complex relationship developing there, and I wonder what the impact will be on Hamas, the PA, the Palestinians and the Israelis, other countries in the region, etc. I don't really have a handle on the motivations of the players involved.